Out of the cold(3)

The charcoal stoves are set inside the tables, with ventilation systems hidden below, and there is no smoke to irritate the eye or taint your clothes.

The designer of the restaurant is Japanese, and he has named every private room after a place in Japan. Rooms are decorated with elements, such as cherry flowers, little ponds and Japanese paintings.

There is sake, beer and tea to go with the meals.

If you are not into hotpots or barbecues, there are still plenty of winter warmers to choose from, like a very nourishing oxtail soup at the China Grill on the 68th floor of the Park Hyatt in Beijing.

This is double-boiled oxtail soup with Matsutake or pine mushrooms and Chinese herbs.

A new item on the winter menu, the soup is a great energy booster, which will instantly warm the body.

Several furnaces work in the open kitchen at the restaurant. If you happen to have a table nearby, you can actually feel the warmth coming from the ovens - very pleasant on a bitterly cold winter day.

Because of the proximity of the stoves, an order of grilled beef arrives at the table so hot that you may want to wait a little for it to cool down.

The restaurant's new winter menu also includes an excellent chocolate mud cake, with vanilla bourbon ice cream and whisky sauce, the kind of dessert that will make you feel happy through the rest of the day, and warms you from the inside out.

IF YOU GO:

East 33

1/F, Raffles Beijing, 33 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6526-3388.

Average cost per head: 328 yuan ($53) plus 15 percent surcharge for dinner buffet, inclusive of wine, beer and soft drink.

Recommended: Seafood buffet.

Available every Friday and Saturday.

Kanda Yakiniku Restaurant

6 Dongfang Donglu, Chaoyang district, near the American Embassy, Beijing. 010-6464-4588.

Average cost per head: Set lunch costs 35-50 yuan ($6-8).

Dinner a la carte costs 100-400 yuan.

Set meals for two costs 198 yuan and 398 yuan for four.

Recommended: Mixed meat platter, sashimi platter.

China Grill

66/F, Park Hyatt Beijing, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-8567-1838.

Average cost per head: 600-800 yuan ($96-128).

Recommended: Oxtail soup, chocolate mud cake.